Archive for Places

I am not of any Indian descent, that I am aware, but my family is from the Rising Sun, Maryland, area near Conowingo. My heritage includes the Reynolds family who received some of the Nottingham Lots from William Penn.

I wanted to be sure you and other Susquehannock descendants were aware of a piece of history which is most likely connected to your heritage. The site is located on the Horseshoe Scout Reservation in Chester County, Pennsylvania, just across the state line from Rising Sun, Maryland, which was originally part of the Nottingham Lots owned by the Reynolds family. In addition to living in the area, I was also involved in scouting and worked on the Boy Scout reservation during my summers as a youth. There is a natural rock formation in Camp Horseshoe overlooking Octoraro Creek known as “Buzzards Rock”. In 1988, archeologists performed an excavation and found that “earliest artifacts indicate that the shelter was first occupied nearly eight to ten thousand years ago.” Artifacts included items such as pottery and arrowheads and showed evidence of occupation even after European influence. The site is now designated officially as “Horseshoe Rockshelter (36Ch488)”.

The following abstract was printed in The Pennsylvania Archaeologist, vol 76(2) 2006:

HORSESHOE ROCKSHELTER (36CH488)

MARK A. MCCONAUGHY

ABSTRACT
Excavations in 1988 at Horseshoe Rockshelter (36CH488) demonstrated that Native Americans utilized the shelter from Early Archaic times through the Contact period. Evidence suggests that the site was primarily used as a short term hunting camp during prehistoric times. There also is evidence that the site functioned as a quartz procurement/processing camp, most likely during the Late Woodland period. The shelter continued to experience periodic use by Euroamericans during the 19th and 20th centuries. Boy Scout camping activities at the rockshelter in recent times disturbed much of the prehistoric cultural deposits. Nevertheless, the excavation produced significant data regarding prehistoric activities at the site.

A narrative of the site and the archaeological dig can be found on the Horseshoe Scout Reservation Alumni Association website. I might be off by a couple hundred feet, but the site is located at GPS 39.722234,-76.120968 (+39° 43′ 20.08″, -76° 7′ 15.37″).

Hello again Friends,
Finally, I can report that our gifts to the County Commissioners yesterday were well received. I understand there was a little coverage on WGAL, the York Daily Record had a story on their website, and there was a nice photo of Mary Ann and Commissioner Doug Hoke on the front page of the local section of the York Dispatch. Barb Bair said Commissioner Hoke stopped by her office afterward and talked to her about permanently displaying his blanket in the Court House.

County Thanked for Park with “Honoring Blankets”

York County commissioners were given a special honor this morning at their regular meeting. Representatives of the Lancaster-York Native Heritage Advisory Council presented them with honoring blankets — a symbolic “thank you” to the people of York County — for the preservation of a new county park area.

According to a council news release, November is National American Indian Heritage Month, and with Thanksgiving around the corner, the group wanted to “thank and honor those who have worked to ensure that the cultural treasure we know as the Byrd Leibhart, or Last Susquehannock Village Site, has been preserved for future generations.”

In October of 2008, the county acquired the property, and on April 29, 2009, the commissioners passed a resolution adopting the Native Lands County Park as the 11th park in the York County Department of Parks and Recreation, the news release states. Native Lands County Park is 93 acres adjacent to Klines Run Park, 1600 Long Level Road, 3 miles south of Wrightsville. The only access to the park, at this time, is by the Native Lands Heritage Trail. The mile-long trail can be accessed either at Klines Run Park or the Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area office, 1706 Long Level Road.

The news release states: “The trail crosses rolling meadows with wonderful views of the Susquehanna River and its bordering lands. A trail guide brochure explaining significant features in the park, including the historic Dritt family cemetery and the site of the last village of the Susquehannock Indians, is available at the trailheads.”

Thank you for this information you have placed on here. I had been reading about the Susquehannock’s. I noticed that there were some indications that they have were decimated by diease and war and the last 22 were killed in PA by the Paxton boys. Article found in wikipedia: Susquehannock. I always wondered if this information was accurate or not. With all information pointing to there being none left. It certainly is a joy to know that their heritage is still out there. I lived along the Susquehanna River in Binghamton, NY area all my life. The town of Owego has a rich Indian history and as I recall there was an Indian village there or perhapse in Chenango Forks that housed a Susquehannock Indian princess. I would have to look it up again to refresh the exact details and tribe.

There is a Tribe of Susquehannocks buried at the Horseshoe Cemetery on the Seneca Nation Reservation in Killbuck New York. The Seneca Nation seems ignorant as to how and why they are there. Only a wooden cross marks this mass grave sight. There is also a Tribe of Erie and an Iroquois.